I, Herrscher Slayer

Collision Scam

Durandal probably wouldn't catch up to him, right... To prevent any accidents, he'd better run first. Once he found Class President, he would go back home with her. He had probably offended Durandal badly this time. Once she recovered, she would definitely retaliate against him. A gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall, and Shen Gonglin was a gentleman recognized by everyone. He certainly would not do something like that, so the most important thing now was to upgrade his escape.

But which direction was the hospital again? Destiny Headquarters was far too complicated. Had they built the headquarters like a maze to ward off outside invaders? He had to admit, it was a brilliant idea. Even he had nearly been fooled by it.

Shen Gonglin nodded in admiration. As expected of Destiny Headquarters—it really was extraordinary.

After running out of Durandal's room, Shen Gonglin had gotten lost without any surprise whatsoever. Since dawn had broken, he did not dare sprout wings and fly into the sky to look around. It was not because he feared causing a commotion; it was simply because, now that it was daylight, he could see the ground from up there. Shen Gonglin had terminal acrophobia. Flying at night was barely manageable, since he could not see how high up he was, but he absolutely dared not fly during the day. That would kill him.

So Shen Gonglin could only search slowly like this, all while guarding against Durandal catching up to him. He did not feel like he had sucked properly that last time. Who knew whether Durandal would rush over to take revenge once she recovered?

Worried about that, Shen Gonglin failed to notice the person ahead of him as he ran. With his head lowered and his mind focused solely on escaping, he accidentally crashed into a girl in front of him. Valkyries were still human. After being hit by Shen Gonglin, the girl cried out and fell straight onto the ground. Shen Gonglin, however, was much more experienced. Though he had fallen too, he took the opportunity to inspect the girl in front of him.

He had to say, every Valkyrie he had met was beautiful.

She had chestnut-brown hair, eyes that seemed to be a distinctive pink, and a black beret that had fallen to one side. Her panties were pure white, and even after falling, she had not immediately adjusted the position of her legs. She seemed like a somewhat careless girl.

In that brief instant, Shen Gonglin had gathered all that information. A sense of satisfaction arose within him. As expected of himself. With such meticulous observational skills, Class President would definitely praise him highly if he told her about it when he got back.

"Ow, ow, ow... Hey, are you okay? How could you run without watching where you were going?"

The girl rubbed her sore little butt and complained while sitting on the ground with her knees bent. How could there be someone so reckless at Headquarters? Even at the branches, no one would be like this, right? Anna looked up at the person who had run into her. It was a boy. Why would Headquarters have a boy his age?

There should not be any researchers around his age.

"It hurts, it hurts so much... It hurts like hell."

In an instant, Shen Gonglin came up with a response. It was indeed his fault for running into someone, but even if it was Shen Gonglin's fault, he would not admit it. The best way to evade responsibility was to pretend he had been hurt worse than the girl. After all, the girl opposite him looked kind and easy to bully. He should be able to fool her this way. Maybe he could even swindle some medical expenses out of her. Shen Gonglin was actually rather short on money. He had seen so many strange and interesting things over there that he could not afford to buy. Even when he came out on missions, Kiana kept the spending money, so his pockets had always been empty. So... since he had caught this opportunity, it would be wrong not to squeeze some money out of her.

Simply put, this guy was preparing to stage a collision scam.

"Huh, are you okay? Where did I hit you? I'm sorry. Let me see your injuries, okay?"

Just as Shen Gonglin had expected, the girl he had run into became flustered. It had obviously been Shen Gonglin's fault, but under this guy's superb acting, Anna immediately reversed their positions. She was an A-rank Valkyrie. Bumping into someone was no big deal, but this child was probably just an ordinary person... though she did not know why an ordinary person would be at Headquarters.

"Physical wounds are secondary. The most important thing is the psychological wound. That hit just now carved a five-centimeter wound into my heart. It hurts so much. And this arm—this arm had almost healed, but it has probably fractured again. It hurts."

Since she had already asked about his injuries, it was time for Shen Gonglin to improvise. He was already covered in bandages. Pointing at the red bloodstains on them, Shen Gonglin spoke with complete seriousness. Afraid that the injury did not seem severe enough, he clutched his chest and put on the appearance of someone deeply wounded. In truth, he was already calculating how much he could scam out of this girl.

After all, this was Shen Gonglin. No one should expect too much from his conscience.

"Huh? That serious? Hurry, let me see the wound. Five centimeters is an extremely serious injury for the heart. Wait a moment, let me take a look first!"

Anna had also suspected the boy might be lying, but the bandages on him made her believe his story. He was already injured. Maybe he had internal injuries as well as external ones, and perhaps her collision had truly aggravated something inside him. Without another word, this pretty but somewhat airheaded young woman pinned Shen Gonglin down in the middle of the street and pulled open his shirt at the chest. Shen Gonglin was so startled that he forgot to resist. No, wait, this was not how he had imagined it going.

She actually believed him!

Were all Valkyries at Headquarters like this? Durandal was excessively straightforward, Rita was a useless maid, and this unknown young woman was strange too. Was this really an organization that fought the Honkai?

"Um, no, I'm not actually that badly hurt. How about we settle this privately? Just give me some medicine money. We're both busy, after all."

Shen Gonglin made that suggestion, but the young woman kept focusing on pulling apart his clothes. Shen Gonglin's snowy skin was exposed to the air, while Anna placed her small hand on his chest and examined him carefully. There did not seem to be any wound.

"No. How can you assume you're fine so easily? I think I should take you to the hospital for an examination."

Money was a small matter. Anna was an A-rank Valkyrie and the captain of a squad. This sort of issue was nothing to her. What mattered was that she feared Shen Gonglin really had some internal injury. Valkyries were people of action. She hauled Shen Gonglin up in one motion and carried him on her back. As he watched her already start walking, Shen Gonglin opened his mouth but said nothing.

He was headed to the hospital anyway. He would just treat it as being on the way.

Unscrupulous Doctor

Destiny, Medical Department.

"Doctor, are you sure he has no internal injuries? Especially around his heart—there really won't be any effects? He seemed to be in a lot of pain after I ran into him."

Anna Schariac watched the doctor put away her stethoscope and hurriedly questioned her. After bringing Shen Gonglin here, she had found a doctor, but every doctor had said Shen Gonglin was fine. Just like an ordinary person visiting a hospital, Anna simply could not rest easy without finding at least something wrong with him.

Mostly because Shen Gonglin's earlier act had been too convincing. Anna had always felt that something was off about him.

"Mm. In my more than ten years of clinical experience, aside from excessive hormone secretion, he has no problems. Should I handle the treatment, or will you? Oh, you said he was struck just now, right? Then let him ram into you a few more times and he'll be fine. I'll demonstrate the actual movements for you... roughly like this. A frequency of forty to seventy times per minute is most suitable."

The doctor put away her stethoscope. Shen Gonglin felt that she had merely pressed her hand against his chest and groped around. Now, the female doctor lay across the desk and demonstrated to Anna with an utterly serious expression. He understood every word individually, but why could he not understand them once they were put together?

It was not just Shen Gonglin. Even Anna could not understand.

"Doctor, what does this have to do with his injuries?"

Anna looked at the doctor lying motionless across the desk in confusion. Why did this pose feel so strange? Did this movement truly have anything to do with treating injuries? By rights, Headquarters' medical methods should be the best in the world. She should not doubt them, but why... was this doctor really a proper doctor?

"Of course it does. Didn't you say just now that this child suffered a serious wound in his heart? The body of a young maiden is precisely the secret medicine for healing. You are more suited to it than I am. We need to hurry. I have a feeling the brat's guardian will be here soon, so we have to speed things up. If you feel this healing method is too hard to accept, I have another move. Want to try it?"

Pushing herself up from the desk, the doctor in the white coat adjusted her glasses and said this. Her badge and attire both proved she was a doctor, but why did her behavior... make her seem so unreliable?

"Guardian... Doctor, are you talking about Class President? You know me?"

The only person here who could be considered his guardian was Class President. Shen Gonglin only realized now that the doctor seemed to know him. When she had taken advantage of him... no, when she had examined him, she seemed to have deliberately avoided the wound on his shoulder. Did she really know him? Maybe she had even treated his injury yesterday.

"Of course. It's rare to see such a top-quality specimen, so naturally I had to personally step in... If you mean that flat-chested little girl who got up early to exercise, then inexplicably blushed and rammed her head into a tree, then yes, that's her. What a strange person. Getting up before dawn to exercise and headbutt trees—she's really odd."

The doctor shook her head and said a string of baffling things. But when she mentioned flat-chested, Shen Gonglin was certain she meant Class President. That trait of Class President's was indeed obvious. Among the people he knew, she ranked first.

Incidentally, Theresa and Bronya ranked second and third.

"Um, Doctor, you said you saw that person... then why were you up so early?"

Anna tilted her head curiously. Though this doctor spoke strangely, she did not seem like a bad person. Listening to her was rather interesting. Since there was nothing else to do, Anna did not mind passing some time here.

"That's because I had an unspeakable dream last night, so I wanted to sneak out before dawn and pounce on a top-quality specimen. Then I saw that flat-chested girl. She was muttering to herself, but I could not hear what she was saying... All right, that's trivial. Don't worry about it. I'll teach you the ultimate method of soothing a man's wounded heart. Come, follow me."

Though she had just said something extremely concerning, the doctor seemed not to care about it at all. She called to Anna, then dropped to her knees with a thump. At the same time, she nodded at Anna, signaling for her to join in. What was this doctor trying to do? Why had she suddenly knelt down?

Though she did not know what the doctor wanted, Anna was pressured by the doctor's inexplicable aura and subconsciously knelt too. The moment she did, she felt something was strange. The doctor was kneeling by the bed, while Anna, after kneeling, was facing Shen Gonglin.

"Mm, this posture can be called the royal road. It gives men even more psychological stimulation than waking them up in the morning. Next, you need to consider whether to use the zipper method or take it off directly. I personally recommend the zipper method—it gives more of a sense of emergency treatment. Listen carefully. What comes next tests the coordination of your tongue and lips. Be careful not to scrape it with your teeth. Since I've never tried the real thing and have only practiced with bananas, you can only adjust according to his expression. Come, show me what you do next."

Very satisfied with Anna's obedience, the doctor stood up, took a small notebook, sat on the bed, and stared ahead with great concentration as though preparing to take notes. But Shen Gonglin and Anna were both utterly bewildered. What exactly was this doctor talking about? These two innocent children had no idea what she meant, yet instinct still made their faces slowly redden. Was this really a treatment method, or was she talking nonsense...

Wait, come to think of it, he did not have any psychological trauma at all.

"Is that woman here again? We gave her leave, so why does she still report in so punctually? I have to recommend to the higher-ups that they send her to a branch. As long as she's at Headquarters, we won't know a day of peace!"

At that moment, a clamor sounded outside the door. The room door was immediately pushed open, and the group of people in white coats outside stared in shock at everything within. A boy was standing there, while a young girl was kneeling before him. That posture... Wait! Wasn't that their target over there? Then everything made sense.

"Sorry for interrupting... She must have tricked you. This woman is a patient herself. She steals doctors' clothes every day and pretends to be a doctor. Don't believe anything she says."

The group at the door rushed in. When the female doctor tried to escape through the window, they caught her, pinned her down, and dragged her away. Watching that strange scene, Anna slowly stood up and exchanged a look with Shen Gonglin.

They would just pretend nothing had happened.

The Three Great Families

At the hospital entrance, neither Anna nor Shen Gonglin brought up what had just happened, as though they had reached a mutual understanding. Although Shen Gonglin said he was fine, Anna still looked at him worriedly. Even if he had no psychological trauma, the child really was injured. The bandages on him proved it, and then she had run into him... She truly felt sorry for him.

It seemed this girl now genuinely believed that she had run into Shen Gonglin.

"I'm fine. Even if I am injured, I won't pin it on you. Just leave without worrying. Even if I cough up blood, I won't say it was your fault."

Shen Gonglin nodded and urged Anna to leave. At last, this guy's conscience had surfaced. Scamming someone through a staged collision was not something to encourage. It seemed Shen Gonglin had not completely gone bad after all. He still had a tiny bit of conscience.

"...Now that you've said that, I'm really worried. How about this? This is my contact information, and this is an unregistered bank card. You can use it after registering and activating it. There's some money inside, so buy yourself some supplements. If anything is wrong with your health, make sure you contact me. If I'm still at the base, I'll definitely come see you."

With the blood of the Schariac family flowing through her veins, Anna could not rest easy after Shen Gonglin said that. But she did have a mission. She had come to Headquarters this time to apply for supplies for her squad, and she still had to gather at the command center. Otherwise, she really would have wanted to take Shen Gonglin to find a proper doctor. That doctor from earlier... was truly not trustworthy.

"That's great... No, isn't this a bit inappropriate? Giving me money and all—I'm kind of embarrassed."

Shen Gonglin swiftly stuffed the bank card into his pocket, then put on a show of polite refusal. He looked exactly like a brat asking for New Year's gift money. Anna shook her head with a smile. This child was really interesting. She hoped they would have another chance to meet.

"No need to be embarrassed. I'm leaving... Oh, right. What's your name?"

The girl had already turned and run off. Only after running some distance did she remember that question. She turned back and asked, and Shen Gonglin gave his name.

"My name is Rita. See you again if we get the chance."

He waved to the girl. How could Shen Gonglin possibly give his real name for something like this? Whenever he scammed people, he always used an alias. That way, even if she caught on later, she would not be able to trace it back to him. It was a basic practice for bad guys.

"Rita? The same name as that S-rank Valkyrie... Well then, see you next time."

Anna did not dwell on it and directly turned away. Only after the girl vanished from sight did Shen Gonglin take out the card she had given him.

"Anna Schariac, huh? There are still good people in this world. She looks a little like Kiana too. Both of them seem kind of dumb... I miss that bug so much."

For some reason, Shen Gonglin thought of Kiana. He stretched and muttered absentmindedly. He really did miss her a little. Ever since they had separated on the battlefield, he had not seen her at all. He wondered what that girl was doing now.

"Shen Gonglin, why are you here? I was just about to look for you. Who was that girl just now?"

Just as Shen Gonglin was missing Kiana, Class President's voice sounded from behind him. Fu Hua had spotted Shen Gonglin from far away. She was very surprised that he had managed to return to the hospital alone. She had already prepared herself to search for him. After all, the boy had no sense of direction. Fu Hua did not dare imagine where he might end up if she did not look for him.

The Valkyrie standing before Shen Gonglin had a thin sheen of sweat on her face. Upon seeing him, Fu Hua involuntarily recalled what had happened last night. That rebellious disciple had secretly kissed her. Kissing her cheek had not been enough—he had even wanted to do something more excessive. The incident had kept Fu Hua awake all night, and she had gotten up early to exercise. Her heart was in such turmoil, yet why could he act as though nothing had happened?

"Of course I came back to find you, Class President. I returned perfectly smoothly. That girl was asking for directions just now. She was very grateful to me, and she even left her contact information so she can treat me to tea."

He could not tell Class President about the collision scam. She was so old-fashioned that she would certainly not approve. So Shen Gonglin smugly made up that lie. Seeing Fu Hua's disbelieving expression, he waved the card in his hand before her as though showing off. Why did Class President not believe him? Shen Gonglin felt his story had no holes at all.

"You gave someone directions? I hope she's all right... Hm? Someone from the Schariac family?"

Fu Hua had already experienced Shen Gonglin's terrible sense of direction. She had wanted to praise him just for managing to return to the hospital alone. As for him giving directions to someone else, she did not dare even think about it. She figured Shen Gonglin had probably led that person the wrong way. But when Fu Hua saw the card in his hand, it caught her attention. Someone from the Schariac family—and judging by the name, she should be an A-rank Valkyrie.

Come to think of it, Shen Gonglin's ability to attract girls was truly strong. The moment he was let out of sight, he somehow got involved with another girl. Why had this Anna Schariac left him her contact information?

"What's wrong? What about the Schariac family? It sounds familiar. Tell me about it, Class President."

Shen Gonglin was interested in the surname. Anna was so airheaded and easy to fool. Could the others in her family be equally easy to fool? Shen Gonglin felt a glittering golden road to riches spreading out before him. From now on, he would make his fortune off the Schariac family.

"Mm, we can talk while we walk, or we'll be late. The Schariac family is one of the three great families that form the foundation of Destiny. Representing the 'Saint,' members of the Schariac family possess the ability to control Honkai. The Kaslana family represents the 'Knight' and possesses innate resistance to Honkai energy. Finally, there is the Apocalypse family, representing the 'Bishop.' With those three families as its core, operating and supporting it, Destiny has been able to develop to this day..."

Fu Hua explained this knowledge to Shen Gonglin. There was probably no need to worry too much about his combat ability, but teaching him other things was also Fu Hua's responsibility. Shen Gonglin nodded lightly. He had heard these things before: the Schariac family, the Kaslana family, and the Apocalypse family.

He understood. The Schariac family was full of sweet, gullible fools, the Kaslana family was full of energetic idiots, and he wondered what the Apocalypse family was like.

At Last, She Appeared

Destiny Command Center. Every Valkyrie currently at the base had gathered here. Valkyries of various positions and ranks stood straight and looked ahead. Today was a major day: Destiny's fourth S-rank combatant had been born.

This was an important matter. Destiny had countless Valkyries, but only three were currently considered the strongest. A-rank Valkyries and those below them could only fight Honkai Beasts, but the Honkai was not made up of Honkai Beasts alone. Herrschers, the source of the Honkai outbreaks, could only be fought by S-rank Valkyries. The emergence of another combatant with such overwhelming power was indeed enough to shake all of Headquarters.

The many Valkyries watched the two figures at the front with blazing eyes: Bianca and Rita Roseweisse. The two stood at the forefront of all Valkyries—the strongest Valkyrie and her adjutant. This newly promoted S-rank combatant would receive his investiture from the strongest Valkyrie herself.

Most astonishingly, this newest S-rank combatant was actually male. Ever since the Honkai erupted, men's status had fallen sharply. After all, the vast majority of effective combatants were women. Even outstanding men were exceedingly rare. They had heard that he had even fought Durandal. The outcome was unknown, but to earn her recognition, he must be an exceptional young man.

Yet at the very front of the formation, the upright figure of the strongest Valkyrie was swaying slightly. Durandal clenched her teeth. Why was that guy not here yet... She was about to be unable to hold on.

That strange sensation from before still lingered in her body. Though so much time had already passed, Durandal had never fully recovered. Standing here was already difficult, but Shen Gonglin, who should have arrived long ago, was nowhere in sight. Standing at attention should have been easy for a Valkyrie, but Durandal was nearing her limit. She felt that if she relaxed even slightly, she would collapse onto the ground. This feeling was truly agonizing.

"Lady Durandal, are you all right? I already sent Lady Fu Hua a message. She'll bring Shen Gonglin over soon."

Rita glanced worriedly at Durandal beside her. Naturally, she knew Durandal's current condition. After all, she had been bitten once yesterday too. Rita had only recovered seven or eight tenths by now, while Lady Durandal had been bitten so many times. Frankly, Rita was already amazed that she could still stand here. As expected of Lady Durandal. If it had been Rita, she definitely would not have been able to stand.

"I-I'm fine... What did Fu Hua say? Why haven't they come yet?"

Durandal gritted her teeth and kept enduring. Her powerful will stabilized her stance. As the strongest, she could not collapse here. Shen Gonglin would arrive soon. Once he did, she would definitely glare at him with the fiercest eyes she could manage. Everything, every last bit of this, was because of Shen Gonglin!

"Lady Fu Hua said... She said everything had originally been going according to plan, and they would have arrived on time. But on the way here, Shen Gonglin came across a hot dog stand, so he's been waiting there for his hot dog to be ready. Lady Fu Hua is waiting to pay for him... Lady Durandal, that's understandable too. Shen Gonglin got up without eating breakfast, after all. He should come once we wait a little longer... probably."

By the end, even Rita felt a little embarrassed. She had wanted to defend Shen Gonglin, but this excuse did not sound particularly reliable. She had not expected a hot dog stand to hold him up. She should have told him earlier that she would bring him breakfast. Food outside was not nutritious at all, and who knew whether its sanitary conditions met standards? He was truly worrying.

A small bag hung from the maid's body, completely at odds with the image of a Valkyrie. Inside the bag were sandwiches the maid had carefully made. They were Rita's special breakfast, made exclusively for Shen Gonglin. She hoped he would still have room for her breakfast after eating that hot dog.

"...Rita, are you sure he isn't joking?"

Durandal staggered and nearly fell over upon hearing that. Was this for real? So many people were waiting for him, yet he was waiting for a hot dog to finish cooking? That hot dog stand had far too much face... No, Shen Gonglin had far too much face. What was inside that guy's head? And Fu Hua—as his guardian, shouldn't she correct this behavior? Yet Fu Hua, whom Durandal also respected, was waiting to pay for Shen Gonglin, while Rita was speaking for him too. She had been right. Those two spoiled Shen Gonglin far too much. That was why he was so brazen and arrogant!

Remembering what she had experienced last night, Durandal nearly cried. Everything was Shen Gonglin's fault... No, Rita and Fu Hua were to blame too. It was all because they spoiled Shen Gonglin too much!

Captain is so pitiful... She must still be hurting now. Setting aside her identity as the strongest Valkyrie, Captain was only a young girl. Something like that had just happened. Maybe she still had that stuff in her stomach, yet she had to stand here like this. What could Alvit do for Captain... If she did not help Captain somehow and get back in her good graces, Alvit was scared.

A little farther back, Alvit stood among Immortal Blade's ranks and watched Durandal ahead of her with great unease. It was all because she had seen something she should not have seen. Durandal's earlier look had nearly scared the girl to tears. That gaze, as though nothing had happened, was precisely what terrified Alvit. Even now, Alvit felt as though the word "danger" were flashing above her head. To keep herself from dying someday over something like stepping forward with her left foot before her right, the poor Valkyrie decided she had to do something.

"Sorry, we're late."

At that moment, that voice rang out in the quiet command center. Fu Hua ran in from outside, pulling Shen Gonglin along. Feeling the countless gazes around them, Fu Hua lowered her head in embarrassment. She grabbed Shen Gonglin by the arm and dragged him all the way to the front. It was all because of this guy that she had embarrassed herself so badly. Did he not know what day it was? He had to eat a hot dog. Was that thing really so delicious?

Thus, before the many Valkyries, the renowned Fu Hua dragged a boy to the front of the formation. Oil gleamed at the corner of her mouth, her cheeks still moved as she chewed, and the boy behind her was behaving in exactly the same way. Was this boy the new S-rank combatant?

This felt a little different from what they had imagined.

"Fu Hua, what is going on here?"